Dc. Paine et al., VISIBLE PHOTOLUMINESCENCE FROM NANOCRYSTALLINE GE FORMED BY H2 REDUCTION OF SI0.6GE0.4O2, Applied physics letters, 62(22), 1993, pp. 2842-2844
Samples of nanocrystalline Ge embedded in SiO2 that display visible ph
otoluminescence were synthesized from chemical vapor deposition-grown
Si0.6Ge0.4 in a two step process of hydrothermal oxidation using steam
at 25 MPa and 475-degrees-C followed by annealing at 750-degrees-C in
flowing forming gas (80/20:N2/H-2). A broad photoluminescence band, p
eaked at 2.14 eV (580 nm) with a full width at half maximum of 0.3 eV,
was observed in samples that were annealed at 750-degrees-C in flowin
g forming gas for 10, 30, and 60 min. As-oxidized (i.e., unprecipitate
d) samples show no photoluminescence peak when excited under identical
conditions.